Compressor with cooling

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus for compressing gaseous fluids with minor amounts liquids, if any; by employing a rotating rotor wherein said fluid is compressed to a pressure that is normally higher than the fluid pressure immediately leaving said rotor; said fluid being usually further pressurized in a diffuser to utilize the kinetic energy of said fluid leaving at high velocity said rotating rotor; said rotating rotor being a centrifuge, with said fluid being compressed in the cavity of said rotor; said rotor cavity being provided with a cooling means to maintain nearly constant fluid temperature during said compression. Discharge nozzles from said rotor cavity are provided for said fluid near the periphery of said rotor; said nozzles may be arranged to discharge said fluid either radially, backward or forward as desired; said nozzles being either converging or converging diverging in shape as required to attain highest possible exit velocity for said fluid.

United States Patent 91 Eskeli 1 Mar.5, 1974 I 1 COMPRESSOR WITH COOLING [76] Inventor: Michael Eslteli, 6220 Orchid Ln.,

Dallas, Tex. 75230 [22] Filed: Aug. 10, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 279,739

[52] U.S.CI 4115/l,4l5/l78,415/21l, 62/86 [51] Int. Cl. F04d 29/58, FOld 5/08 [58] Field of Search 1. 415/178, 219 B, 1; 62/499, 62/86, 401

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,393,338 1/1946 Roebuck I 62/86 2,680,007 6/1954 Arbucklel. 62/499 1,764,535 6/1930 Simmonm. 415/178 3,244,109 4/1966 Barske 415/219 B FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 381,490 10/1932 Great Britain 62/499 Primary Examiner-Henry F. Raduazo Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Woffard, Felsman & Fails [57] ABSTRACT Method and apparatus for compressing gaseous fluids with minor amounts liquids, if any; by employing a rotating rotor wherein said fluid is compressed to a pressure that is normally higher than the fluid pressure immediately leaving said rotor; said fluid being usually further pressurized in a diffuser to utilize the kinetic energy of said fluid leaving at high velocity said rotating rotor; said rotating rotor being a centrifuge, with said fluid being compressed in the cavity of said rotor; said rotor cavity being provided with a cooling means to maintain nearly constant fluid temperature during said compression. Discharge nozzles from said rotor cavity are provided for said fluid near the periphery of said rotor; said nozzles may be arranged to discharge said fluid either radially, backward or forward as desired; said nozzles being either converging or converging diverging in shape as required to attain highest possible exit velocity for said fluid.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures COMPRESSOR WITH COOLING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION:

This invention relates generally to devices for compressing gases by employing centrifugal force to compress said gas.

The art of compressing gases has seen many devices. In some of those devices, a gas is accelerated within a rotating rotor passage and then discharged from said passage usually radially outward, and then said gas is compressed in a diffuser where the kinetic energy of said fluid is converted to pressure.

The main disadvantage of these conventional compressors is that their efficiency is rather poor due to friction in said diffuser due the very high velocities employed; losses when said kinetic energy is converted to pressure in said diffuser; and difficulty in obtaining higher pressures due to the very high rotor speeds needed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross section of the compressor, and FIG. 2 is an end view of the same compressor.

In FIG. 3, the rotor is illustrated.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS It is an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for compressing gases wherein said gas is compressed within a rotating rotor cavity to a predetermined pressure; said compression being nearly isothermal, with the fluid temperature being maintained at a predetermined value by employing a cooling heat exchanger within said rotor. By cooling the fluid to be compressed during compression, the density of said fluid is increased, and the rotor speed needed to obtain a predetermined pressure increase is reduced.

Referring to FIG. I, therein is illustrated a cross section of said compressor. I is casing, II is fluid collecting space, 12 is fluid diffuser passage, 13 is rotor discharge nozzle, 14 is fluid space within rotor, 15 is rotor heat exchanger fin and vane, 36 are coolant supply conduits to rotor heat exchanger, 17 is coolant supply and 18 is coolant return, 19 is coolant return conduit, 20 is coolant circulation conduit, 21 is rotor shaft, 22 is shaft bearing, 23 is compressor base, 24 is fluid exit opening, 25 is rotor seal, 26 is fluid inlet opening, 27 is shaft bearing, 28 is bearing support, 29 is rotor.

In FIG. 2, an end view of the same compressor shown in FIG. 1, is illustrated, with a section removed to show interior details. 10 is casing, II is fluid passage, 12 is diffuser passage with vanes 31, 29 is rotor, 24 is fluid exit opening, 26 is fluid inlet to rotor, 21 is rotor shaft, 28 is bearing support, 23 is compressor base.

In FIG. 3, an end view of the rotor is shown, with a section removed to illustrate interior details. 29 is rotor, I2 is fluid exit nozzle from said rotor, 15 are heat exchanger fins and vanes, 20 are coolant conduits, 26 is fluid inlet to rotor, 21 is shaft, 19 is coolant return conduit, 30 indicates rotation of rotor.

In operation, the fluid to be compressed enters said rotor via entry opening 26, and passes to rotor cavity. In said rotor cavity, said fluid is compressed by centrifugal action on said fluid by said rotor, with vanes 15 asfluid. After leaving said rotor, said fluid will be passed to a stationary diffuser section, where kinetic energy of the fluid is converted to pressure. After leaving said diffuser, said fluid is passed to compressor discharge.

The fluid to be compressed may be be a gas such as air, or be a mixture of gas and liquid. The coolant may be a liquid such as water, or be a gas with suitable properties so that the temperature increase for the coolant is less than for the fluid to be compressed. The fluid to be compressed, and the coolant fluid, are in heat exchange relationship within said rotor cavity, and with the temperature of the fluid to be compressed being higher than the temperature of said coolant fluid, heat transfer takes place from the fluid to be compressed to said coolant fluid.

The coolant fluid is supplied via the rotor shaft, and is returned to said rotor shaft. Little or no work is required for said coolant fluid, except due to fluid friction within said coolant conduits and passages.

To reduce fluid friction on said rotor exterior, said rotor may be closely fitted to said casing, as illustrated in FIG. I. The rotating rotor will then partially evacuate the space between said rotor and said casing, with resultant reduction of drag on said rotor.

In FIG. ll, the compressor is shown to have a single fluid inlet. The said rotor may be provided with two inlets. Also, two or more stages may be provided in series, so that said fluid will be passed from one stage to next, with a gain in pressure in each stage.

Various well known devices, such as gauges, governors and the like, are employed with the device of this invention. They do not form a part of this invention and are not further described herein.

Said exit nozzles from said rotor may be arranged to discharge said fluid either forward, radially, or backward, as desired. In FIG. 3, said nozzles are indicated to be discharging in the forward direction.

What is claimed is:

1. A compressing centrifuge for compressing a fluid comprising:

a. a casing for containing said fluid and for providing support for a rotor shaft and bearings; said casing having respective inlet and outlet ports for receiving said fluid to be compressed and for discharging the compressed fluid;

. a rotor shaft for power input needed to effect rotation of a rotor; said shaft being journalled for rotation in bearings supported in said casing; said first shaft having first and second longitudinally extending cooling fluid passageways for conveying a cooling fluid therethrough;

c. a rotating centrifuge rotor for subjecting said fluid to a centrifugal force field; said centrifuge rotor being mounted on said shaft so as to rotate in unison with said shaft; said centrifuge rotor having an internal space with a plurality of heat conductive internal vanes defining respective cavities within said primary rotor for transferring heat from a compressible fluid during centrifuge compression thereof and for ensuring that any fluid within said centrifuge rotor rotates with the same rotational speed as said centrifuge rotor; said centrifuge rotor being equipped with means for introducing the fluid to be compressed at the center of the centrifuge rotor and having suitable discharge opening adjacent the periphery for discharging the compressed said fluid; said discharge opening being smaller in cross sectional dimensions than the minimum cross sectional dimensions of the associated cavities upstream thereoffor ensuring that the fluid within the respective cavities of the rotating primary rotor will be subjected to centrifugation and centrifugal compression for effecting at the periphcry of the rotor and upstream of the discharge opening a compressed fluid having a second pressure that is higher than the pressure at the inlet to said centrifuge rotor;

d. a cooling means disposed interiorly of said rotor so as to rotate in conjunction therewith; said cooling means comprising at least a peripherally disposed cooling passageway and respective radially extending passageways that are connected at their respective ends with said cooling passageway such that a cooling fluid can flow through said cooling means in heat exchange relationship with the compressed fluid in said rotor and back to said second passageway in-said shaft for discharge of the heated cooling fluid; said cooling means having sufficient cooling surface to effect in conjunction with predetermined design conditions of inlet and outlet temperatures and flow rates of said cooling fluid substantially isothermal centrifuge compression of said fluid in said rotor;

I e. diffuser and fluid collecting section intermediate said rotor and said outlet port and communicating with both for converting a high velocity, cooled, compressed said fluid to a high pressure fluid upstream of said outlet port;

f. a compressible first fluid being flowed through said inlet port being substantially isothermally compressed within said rotor by being cooled within said rotor to a temperature less than the temperature would otherwise be if subjected to the same centrifuge compression without cooling, being discharged through said discharge opening at high velocity, having its pressure raised further in said diffuser and fluid collecting section and being passed out of said outlet port; and

g. cooling fluid being flowed through said cooling means and said first and second cooling passage- .ways in said shaft; whereby said fluid can be compressed to a predetermined pressure with a relatively low rotational speed for said rotor.

2. The compressing centrifuge of claim 1 wherein said casing is fitted so closely to the external walls of said rotor that centrifugal action on fluid particles will partially evacuate the space between said casing and said rotor walls to reduce the fluid friction and allow said rotor to rotate morefreely for more efficient operation.

3. The compressing centrifuge of claim 1- wherein said discharge opening of said rotor comprises a plural ity of discharge nozzles that are oriented to discharge the centrifugally compressed said fluid from said rotating rotor in the direction in which said rotor is rotating such that said predetermined pressure can be achieved with even lower said rotational speed.

4. The compressing centrifuge of claim 1 wherein said first fluid is air.

5. The compressing centrifuge of claim 1 wherein said cooling fluid is water.

6. A method of compressing a first gaseous fluid and simultaneously heating a second fluid comprising:

a. subjecting said first fluid to a centrifugal force field via a centrifuge rotor having vanesdefining cavities to ensure that the fluid attains the same rotational speed as said rotor, in a compressing centrifuge to compress the fluid to a first pressure that is higher at the periphery of said centrifuge rotor than at the entry thereto;

b. cooling the compressed said fluid during its centrifuge compression to obtain substantially isothermal compression interiorly of said rotor by circulating said second fluid at an adjustable flow rate along the axis of rotation of said centrifuge rotor, radially outwardly and within said centrifuge rotor and adjacent the periphery of said centrifuge rotor in heat exchange relationship with the compressed said first fluid to heat said second fluid to a predetermined operational temperature commensurate with a predetermined resultant cooling of said first fluid during centrifuge compression; and passing the heated said second fluid radially inwardly to be discharged along the axis of rotation of said centrifuge rotor;

c. passing said first fluid in its cooled, compressed state through discharge passageways that are smaller in cross sectional area than the minimum area of the respective associated cavities intermediate said vanes upstream of the discharge passageways to a lower second pressure and, thence, to a diffuser and fluid collecting section in which a large portion of the kinetic energy contained in the discharged fluid is converted to pressure to raise said pressure to a third pressure that is higher than said first pressure; and

d. passing said fluid from said rotor to an outlet of said compressing centrifuge; the pressure of said fluid at said outlet of said compressing centrifuge being higher than at the inlet to said compressing centrifuge. 

1. A compressing centrifuge for compressing a fluid comprising: a. a casing for containing said fluid and for providing support for a rotor shaft and bearings; said casing having respective inlet and outlet ports for receiving said fluid to be compressed and for discharging the compressed fluid; b. a rotor shaft for power input needed to effect rotation of a rotor; said shaft being journalled for rotation in bearings supported in said casing; said first shaft having first and second longitudinally extending cooling fluid passageways for conveying a cooling fluid therethrough; c. a rotating centrifuge rotor for subjecting said fluid to a centrifugal force field; said centrifuge rotor being mounted on said shaft so as to rotate in unison wiTh said shaft; said centrifuge rotor having an internal space with a plurality of heat conductive internal vanes defining respective cavities within said primary rotor for transferring heat from a compressible fluid during centrifuge compression thereof and for ensuring that any fluid within said centrifuge rotor rotates with the same rotational speed as said centrifuge rotor; said centrifuge rotor being equipped with means for introducing the fluid to be compressed at the center of the centrifuge rotor and having suitable discharge opening adjacent the periphery for discharging the compressed said fluid; said discharge opening being smaller in cross sectional dimensions than the minimum cross sectional dimensions of the associated cavities upstream thereof for ensuring that the fluid within the respective cavities of the rotating primary rotor will be subjected to centrifugation and centrifugal compression for effecting at the periphery of the rotor and upstream of the discharge opening a compressed fluid having a second pressure that is higher than the pressure at the inlet to said centrifuge rotor; d. a cooling means disposed interiorly of said rotor so as to rotate in conjunction therewith; said cooling means comprising at least a peripherally disposed cooling passageway and respective radially extending passageways that are connected at their respective ends with said cooling passageway such that a cooling fluid can flow through said cooling means in heat exchange relationship with the compressed fluid in said rotor and back to said second passageway in said shaft for discharge of the heated cooling fluid; said cooling means having sufficient cooling surface to effect in conjunction with predetermined design conditions of inlet and outlet temperatures and flow rates of said cooling fluid substantially isothermal centrifuge compression of said fluid in said rotor; e. diffuser and fluid collecting section intermediate said rotor and said outlet port and communicating with both for converting a high velocity, cooled, compressed said fluid to a high pressure fluid upstream of said outlet port; f. a compressible first fluid being flowed through said inlet port, being substantially isothermally compressed within said rotor by being cooled within said rotor to a temperature less than the temperature would otherwise be if subjected to the same centrifuge compression without cooling, being discharged through said discharge opening at high velocity, having its pressure raised further in said diffuser and fluid collecting section and being passed out of said outlet port; and g. cooling fluid being flowed through said cooling means and said first and second cooling passageways in said shaft; whereby said fluid can be compressed to a predetermined pressure with a relatively low rotational speed for said rotor.
 2. The compressing centrifuge of claim 1 wherein said casing is fitted so closely to the external walls of said rotor that centrifugal action on fluid particles will partially evacuate the space between said casing and said rotor walls to reduce the fluid friction and allow said rotor to rotate more freely for more efficient operation.
 3. The compressing centrifuge of claim 1 wherein said discharge opening of said rotor comprises a plurality of discharge nozzles that are oriented to discharge the centrifugally compressed said fluid from said rotating rotor in the direction in which said rotor is rotating such that said predetermined pressure can be achieved with even lower said rotational speed.
 4. The compressing centrifuge of claim 1 wherein said first fluid is air.
 5. The compressing centrifuge of claim 1 wherein said cooling fluid is water.
 6. A method of compressing a first gaseous fluid and simultaneously heating a second fluid comprising: a. subjecting said first fluid to a centrifugal force field via a centrifuge rotor having vanes defining cavities to ensure that the fluid attains the same rotational speed as said rotor, in a compressing centrifuge to compress the fluid to a first pressure that is higher at the periphery of said centrifuge rotor than at the entry thereto; b. cooling the compressed said fluid during its centrifuge compression to obtain substantially isothermal compression interiorly of said rotor by circulating said second fluid at an adjustable flow rate along the axis of rotation of said centrifuge rotor, radially outwardly and within said centrifuge rotor and adjacent the periphery of said centrifuge rotor in heat exchange relationship with the compressed said first fluid to heat said second fluid to a predetermined operational temperature commensurate with a predetermined resultant cooling of said first fluid during centrifuge compression; and passing the heated said second fluid radially inwardly to be discharged along the axis of rotation of said centrifuge rotor; c. passing said first fluid in its cooled, compressed state through discharge passageways that are smaller in cross sectional area than the minimum area of the respective associated cavities intermediate said vanes upstream of the discharge passageways to a lower second pressure and, thence, to a diffuser and fluid collecting section in which a large portion of the kinetic energy contained in the discharged fluid is converted to pressure to raise said pressure to a third pressure that is higher than said first pressure; and d. passing said fluid from said rotor to an outlet of said compressing centrifuge; the pressure of said fluid at said outlet of said compressing centrifuge being higher than at the inlet to said compressing centrifuge. 